A glance at coal and its role in climate change

Nov 18, 2013 by Karl Ritter

Young girls protest in front of the Polish Ministry of Economy in Warsaw, Monday Nov. 18, 2013 where a Coal Industry meeting is taking place in Warsaw, Poland, Monday, Nov. 18, 2013. The U.N.'s chief climate diplomat on Monday urged the coal industry to diversify toward cleaner energy sources and leave most of the world's remaining coal reserves in the ground. On the sidelines of a U.N. climate conference, Christiana Figueres told dozens of CEOs of coal companies meeting at Poland's Economy Ministry that their industry needs to change radically to curb emissions of heat-trapping gases that scientists say are warming the planet. ( AP Photo/Czarek Sokolowski)

Coal took center stage in the global warming debate on Monday as a high-profile coal industry event kicked off on the sidelines of a U.N. climate conference in Warsaw.

Environmental activists were outraged, saying coal is the problem, not the solution to climate change.

Poland, which is presiding over both conferences, says the coal industry needs to be part of the climate discourse because a lot of coal-reliant countries—Poland included—will depend on the fossil fuel for a long time.

Here are some quick facts about coal and the carbon pollution the world is releasing by burning it:

WHAT IS COAL?

Coal is a fossil fuel that formed over time from the remains of plants that died millions of years ago. It contains energy that those plants once absorbed from the sun.

WHY DO SOME PEOPLE CALL IT A "DIRTY" FUEL?

Apart from being a major contributor to emissions of CO2, the most important greenhouse gas, coal is a leading cause of smog, acid rain and air pollution. Governments have been trying to manage the environmental impact of coal burning ever since smoke pollution became a major problem in English cities in the 19th century.

HOW MUCH CO2 EMISSIONS COME FROM COAL?

Of all energy sources, coal is the dirtiest in terms of carbon pollution. In 2011, about 44 percent of total energy emissions came from coal, compared to 35 percent from oil and just over 20 percent from natural gas, according to the International Energy Agency.

HOW CAN YOU REDUCE EMISSIONS FROM COAL?

U.N. climate chief Christiana Figueres offered one alternative Monday: leave the coal in the ground. But the reality is a lot of countries with coal resources are not ready to give it up as an energy source. Instead, they are looking for ways to reduce emissions by improving the efficiency of coal-fired plants or adopting technologies that trap the CO2 for storage underground. These technologies are expensive and have so far not been put to widespread use.

IF COAL IS SO DIRTY WHY ARE WE STILL BURNING IT?

Since the industrial revolution coal has been a double-edged sword for humanity, powering economic growth while polluting the environment. Even now that the climate impact is known, coal-reliant countries are reluctant to give it up, fearing it would hurt their economies. Even though China—the world's biggest carbon polluter—is investing in renewable energy, its coal use is also rising because of the huge demand for energy as its economy expands, lifting millions of people out of poverty.

WHO BURNS THE MOST COAL?

China is the world's biggest producer and consumer of coal. Coal accounted for 68 percent Chinese energy consumption in 2012, according to the Center for International Climate and Environmental Research, Oslo. The U.S. also is a top coal producer, but domestic coal use is declining as some power plants have switched to lower-priced natural gas.

President Barack Obama's top energy and environmental officials said Wednesday there is a future for coal, despite a pending regulation aimed at limiting global warming pollution from new power plants that ...

Every summer, tens of thousands of people across Australia revel in live outdoor music, staying for a day or pitching their tents for a weekend. When the music dies, however, what's left may be less appealing ...

Extensive worldwide changes in the timing of leaf activity over the past few decades—which may have significant ecological and atmospheric consequences—have been revealed by a University of Otago, New ...

A new study says a record drought that ravaged Syria in 2006-2010 was likely stoked by ongoing manmade climate change, and that the drought may have helped propel the 2011 Syrian uprising. Researchers say ...

Intensified land-use, sewage discharge, and climate change have likely favored disproportionate development of harmful algae in freshwaters. A new study found that blooms of one type of harmful algae, called cyanobacteria, ...

User comments : 0

Please sign in to add a comment.
Registration is free, and takes less than a minute.
Read more

Click here to reset your password.
Sign in to get notified via email when new comments are made.

Javascript is currently disabled in your web browser. For full site functionality, it is necessary to enable Javascript.
In order to enable it, please see these instructions.